Arrest warrants for a general manager of commerce, sources talking about allegations of corruption in defense contracts

Sources familiar with the issuance of court orders reported the arrest of Hashem Mohammad Hatem, general manager of the car and machinery trade company in the Ministry of Commerce, against the background of files relating to suspicions of corruption and commercial contracts linked to the Ministry of Defence.

The sources said the investigation dealt with suspicions about the mechanisms of concluding a number of contracts, including price inflation versus market prices, the introduction of brokerage firms, as well as suspicions about the supply of mechanisms, equipment and spare parts with quality specifications that do not match those reported in some contracts.

It added that the investigations were also looking for information about the registration of some shipments and equipment in official documents without any evidence of actual receipt, as well as allegations about the payment of sums to officials and employees to facilitate the passage of contracts and expedite the disbursement of dues.

According to circulating information, the current governor has been in office since 2020 and has previously worked in a number of administrative positions at the Ministries of Education and Trade, including the Exhibition Corporation and the Department of External Economic Relations.

Sources also indicate that his transfer from the Ministry of Education to the Ministry of Commerce took place in 2008, before he later took on a number of senior administrative positions at the Ministry of Commerce.

In the same context, some circulating information includes allegations of links between the ringleader and political and administrative figures that have helped to maintain his official influence, but these allegations remain under investigation and official evidence, and no final court ruling has been issued to substantiate them.